amarzano

Thank you for the great tips. In the light of day, I checked the fuse box. The 15 amp fuse for the furnace was blown. The furnace is working again. A bit off topic, but if you have shore power is it better to heat with the furnace or the heat pumps? Both seem to get the job done, but I am wondering if one would be more efficient. Of course we pay for propane and not shore power.. Thank you Alex

On our coach there is a mechanical thermostat in the bathroom. If it is set too high, the fan will not come on in the bathroom. I just set it to the lowest position now.

Last night our furnace stopped heating. The fan runs - but the furnace does NOT kick in. We do have a full tank of LPG and are on shore power. It was working earlier in the evening - then the DW started pushing buttons on the thermostat and it stopped... We ran the heat pump last night which might be a better option - since we don't use LPG.. Heat pump is controlled by same thermostat as furnace. Any thoughts or suggestions on what to check and where it would be located? This is a Suburban furnace mount under the fridge. Stove, fridge and water heater all are functioning normal. We have a 2011 Berkshire 390bh by Forest River. It was dark and cold when this happened last night - so I didn't wander outside - but will start looking for tripped breakers today. Thank you Alex

I was just thinking about this. I went to check my tires first thing in the morning while camping. The sun was out - but we were shaded. The tire show 92 psi. It showed 95 psi when I started the trip 2 days ago. The problem was the over night low was 28 deg. It's in the 50's at home, so I decided to get to warmer clime and then check again... I ASSUME that a tire will run about the same psi/ temp once warm. (ie 100psi @ 60 mph @ 60 deg) regardless of where I started. Is that right?

Fully Loaded and ready for the trip we are at: 10,160 lbs Front 17,520 lbs Rear I will see if I can find something in the Chassis Manual about loads for the front Axel. Alex

Thank you all again for the advice. I had the coach weighed at a CAT scale before our trip. This is close to Loaded, minus a DW and kid. Front: 10,020lbs Rear: 17,280lbs The original weights I posted were obviously wrong. I still have not been able To have each wheel weighed, and will keep trying. I will also weigh the coach on the way back from the weekend - with everyone on board and post that tomorrow..

The CURSE has been broken! I am happy to announce the DW has been able to complete her FIRST shower in the RV after 5 trips!! :-) She did the Navy Shower routine and made it thru with hot water to spare. Thank you all for the tips and info. I now know more about the Heater than I knew existed. FYI - I did find and check the bypass valve (it was not an issue). I also switched the electric to ON a since we are on CG 50 amp. I will switch it OFF when we hit the road. I did NOT check the pressure valve - But will check when I locate it.. So - this all said I noticed a thread on Tankless water heaters. If this can be retro fitted? It would be an upgrade I would like to try..

Brett - I have been trying to get thru to the Highway Patrol (CHPs) but without luck at this point. Forest River followed up and provided the following numbers: FR - 4614 FL - 4586 RR - 8458 RL - 8362 This is for MY coach as it was when it left the factory. Apparently - they weigh each unit as it leaves. I thought this was pretty interesting..

A quick update.. Spoke to Forest River today. They politely told me the above numbers could not be correct. I should be looking at about 8500lbs per side on.the rear and 4500lbs per side on the front. I will try to get the coach weighed this weekend. I should be able to at least get accurate Axel weights and then zero in on the correct pressure.

Here is what I am learning... I paid to have the RV weighed - and can't trust the numbers. I paid to have it Align and the Ride height checked and it still pulls right and can't trust the ride height. I need to stop paying and start finding some quality folks to do the work. Sorry - just whining. Can anyone suggest an alignment in the San Francisco Bay Area that can give a quality result? I have been trying to find a scale - but with no luck yet. (I want to find someplace that can again measure each wheel.)

Bill - We have an Propane / Electric heater. Yes - it starts out VERY Hot - more than I run in our house. I have heard it click on and been on the outside of the coach while the water heater was running. I assume it has an electric function as well - I will have to find the manual and research that one. I am assuming that it has an automatic feature - like the fridge that will flip back and forth? or do I have to flip a breaker each time? The odd one was when the DW took a shower first thing in the morning and ran out. The kids weren't even up yet. I first thought the pilot maybe went out over night - but it is a DSI - so there is no pilot. What I don't know is if has a thermostat like the house - where it keeps the tank hot over night - or if it will cool down over night and need to be restarted or something?? Also - any idea how fast they heat up from cold - or when they are empty - ie - please wait xx before your shower? Does Gas or Electric heat faster? Thank you.. Alex

Brett - Thank you for the reply. I had read about the importance of ride height and got the following from Freightliner - which I passed to the alignment shop. I had STRESSED this be checked and correct PRIOR to the alignment. Front 10" from bottom of Frame Rail to middle of shock bolt Rear 10.25" from bottom of Frame Rail to middle of shock bolt. I will be taking the coach back to have them recheck the alignment - as it is still pulling to the right and will AGAIN stress this be checked on BOTH sides of the coach. Any thoughts on the tire pressure? I'm not sure I am reading the tables correctly.. (not sure if it was clear above - but I am running dual wheels on the backs) Thank you. Alex

We have done about 5 trips in the RV now. Each time - the DW has gone to take a shower - she has quickly run out of Hot Water. The 3 kids and myself have been fine - but as you can see - this is a cause of MAJOR concern! When Mom is not happy - NO ONE IS HAPPY!! So - perhaps I need to step back and understand how the heater works and make sure that I do NOT have a valve flipped wrong.. As I understand it - the Berkshire 390BH has a 10gal DSI water heater. When we start off on a trip - I will immediately turn the heater ON (red light comes on and then goes off). I will usually also turn on the water pump. (Do I turn this OFF when I hook up to the campsite - or does it matter?) When we get to the campsite and are hooked up - We seem to have hot water (ie - washing hands filling tub for kids). But it runs out VERY quickly.. She tried taking a shower first think this morning before ANYONE used any hot water and it was out in about 4 mins. The coach sat all night - but the heater had been running (at least I think so). I know our propane is near full. What can I do to ensure a warmer experience for her before the next trip? Thank you, Alex

Hello - Newbie with lots of questions.. We had our coach weighed today.. Front Left: 5200 lbs Front Right: 5190 lbs Rear Left: 5120 lbs Rear Right: 8540 lbs My first reaction - Holy Crap - someone must have made a mistake.. (Which is a possibility - the RV repair center had this weighed for me - I wasn't there to actually see this..) Any other owners see such a big difference in the Right Rear? I know this is where the Fridge / Washer / Dryer / Fresh Water tank / etc. sit.. Just wondering if this is normal.. Is this going to cause a problem with handling? (I feel the coach pulls to the right - even after having the alignment checked.) I did NOT have the family in the coach at the time - but figure that is only about 250 lbs (small kids) or so - and that would be distributed mostly over the front.. The coach comes with Michelin® XRV 255/80R 22.5 (2 in front and 4 in back). As near as I can tell - I should be at 110lb front and 90 rear? Is this correct? It seems that I am running out of weight margin on the fronts (if I am reading the chart correctly) - Anyone able to validate the correct Tire Presssure I should be running? I posted this on the Berkshire forum - but think there might be more traffic here.. Thank you, Alex